Wallet



March 26, 194.6. s. wl-:TTERHAHN WALLET Filed May 12, 1944 Flai INVENTOR Patented-Mar. 26, 194.6

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WALLET Siegbert Wetterhahn, New York, N. Y.

Application May 12, 1944, Serial No. 535,269

2 Claims.

nations of bills placed in the billfold without re' quiring an unfolding or opening of the billfold.

Another object of my invention is to provide a novel and improved wallet which will permit an examination of the denominations of bills placed in the billfold and a withdrawal o-f one or more bills without exposing the content of the billfold or the purse.

Another object of my invention is to provide a novel and improved wallet in which the coin opening of the purse and the opening of the billfold for withdrawing bills from the folded billfold are placed and arranged so that coins placed in the purse cannot leave the purse through the opening provided for the removal of bills from the folded billfold.

Another object of my invention is to provide a novel and improved wallet in which the opening for the withdrawal of bills is placed at the outside of the wallet and is accessible without opening or unfolding the wallet 'or the coin purse.

Other and further objects and advantages of my invention will be hereinafter set forth and other features thereof by the appended claims.

Referring to the drawing which illustrates sev- Figure l is a plan view of the inner side of av wallet according to the invention in its opened L position.

Figure 2 is a side View of Figure 1.

Figure 2A is a partial longitudinal cross-section of Figure 1 along line 2.A-2A.

Figure 3 shows a wallet according to the in vention in its folded or closed position, a flap normally covering the opening for removing bills being lifted. l

Figure 4 shows a plan view of a modication of a folded wallet according to the invention.

Figure 5 shows a side view of Figure 4.

Figure 6 shows a partial perspective View of a second modification of a folded wallet according to the invention, the opening for the Withdrawal of bills being closed, and

Figure 7 shows the modification according to Figure 6 in the open position of the opening for the removal of bills from the billfold.

The wallet as shown on the drawing comprises two elongated strips I and 2 preferably substantially rectangularly shaped and made of a flexible material such as leather, textile fabric, for example silk or any other suitable fabric. Strip I and strip 2 which is somewhat shorter andY narrower than strip I (see Figs. 1 and 2A) are joined at the bottom edges 3 and at their longitudinal sides 4 by any suitable means such as gluing or stitching as indicated by double lines. Strip I is fastened at its upper edge to a frame member 5 by any suitable conventional means for example by fitting the edge of the strip tightly in a groove of frame member 5. The lframe member is pivoted at 6 to a second frame member 1. Strip 2 is extended at its upper end into two branches 8 and 9 integral With strip 2 and joined at their bottom edges. The upper edges of branches 8 and 9 are fastened to frame members 5 and 1 respectively by any suitable conventional means for example by iitting the edges tightly into grooves of the frame members. Substantially triangularly shaped gussets I0 are provided between branches 8 and 9 integral therewith and also fastened fto frame members 5 and 1 so that a coin compartment is formed by the frame members, the branches of strip 2 and the gussets. The frame members may be provided with clasps II and I2 for holding the coin compartment closed. The

' inner side of strip 2 and the inner side of strip I constitute a billfold in which bills may be placed nat against the strips. At the outside of strip I pockets may be provided by fastening preferably rectangularly shaped strips I3 and I4 made of exible material such as leather or textile fabric to the outside of strip I for example by stitching oi` gluing, the entrance into the pockets formed by strips I3 and I 4 being indicated by a double line 2l.

At the lower end of strip 2 relatively close to the bottom edge 9 a slot I5 is provided. This slot opens into the billfold compartment constituted by strips l and 2 and may be formed by cutting or stamping a suitable piece of material out of the outer strip 2.

A flap I8 may be provided to cover the opening or slot I5. The ap may be fastened near or at the bottom edge 3.

The wallet can be folded along the transverse line I1 so that the lower 'sections of the strips are resting against the upper sections of the strips near the frame members, strip'2 then forming the outer wall. Any bills placed in the bill comand i2.

partment will then be held in their positions by the friction between the folded sides or walls of the wallet and the bills themselves. A snap fastener I8, I9 may be provided t'o hold the wallet in its folded position as shown in Figure 3.

It should be understood that the various parts of the wallet may be lined with any suitable material such as silk or leather. Since such liningsv are conventional and not essential for the understanding of the invention they are not shown in detail. n

In use, coins may be placedln the coin compartment which then is closed by means of clasps Il As it will be seen from the drawings, coins may be placed in theecoin compartment whether the billfold is open or closed. In order to place bills 20 in the billfold, the wallet is unfolded and the bills are placed between strips or walls I and 2 in a` conventional manner. Then the billfold is closed whereby the bills are frictionally secured in the billfold.

As it is apparent from Figure 3, the edges of bills 20 placed in the billfold will be visible through slot l5 or protrude from the slot. Thus the bills may be counted without removing them from the billfold by simply lifting flap I6 as indicated in Figure 3. If it is desired to withdraw one of the bills from the billfold, the selected bill is simply pulled out without opening the billfold. The remaining bills will be held in their positions by the friction between the bills and the strips or walls of the billfold themselves.

The wallet according to vmy invention has the great advantage that bills can be counted and withdrawn from the wallet without either un- -folding the wallet or opening the coin compartment. Hence any embarrassment caused by the exposure of bills contained in the wallet and any danger due to a possible display of substantial sums of money in public places such as stores, are avoided. Furthermore, it should be noted that the coin compartment and billfold are entirely separated, hence any danger of losing coins I by leaving the coin compartment through the billfold is eliminated.

The embodiment of my invention shown in Figures 4 and 5 is similar in principle to the embodiment according to Figures 1, 2 and 3. It is distinguished from the embodiment according to Figures 1, 2 and 3 by the different arrangevment of flap I6 (see Figure 5) which can be fastened to the outer stripfor Wall 2 by means of so that a slot 25 is formed at the bottom of the wallet by means of which a selected bill may be withdrawn from the folded wallet without opening the coin compartment. In order to close the slot 25 between the two strips tightly when no withdrawal or examination of bills is intended, a

flat spring 2l is inserted in one or both strips near to and parallel with the bottom edges oi' the strips. This spring tends to assume a prone position and hence to press the ends of the strips tightly together as shown in Figure 6. When it is desired to open the slot, the corners 22, 23 and hence the strips are pressed towards each other, preferably between two fingers as indicated. vThe spring or springs will consequently bend and part allowing an examination and withdrawal of bills placed in the billfold without unfolding the wallet or opening the coin compartment. Figure 7 shows the slot opened. As soon as the pressure against the ends of spring 24 is released, the spring will close slot 25 again.

While the invention has been described in detail with respect to certain preferred examples and embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art after understanding my invention that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and.

1. Wallet comprising two elongated flexible strips fastened together along their bottom edges and along one of their longitudinal side edges for defining a bill compartment, one of said strips forming the outer wall member and the other the inner wall member of the wallet, two pivotally connected U-shaped frame members, said inner wall member havingits top edgeand the upper portion of its said longitudinal side edge fastened to one of said frame members, two branch members extending from said outer wall member and connected at their bottom edges to the outer wall member at a point intermediate the length of said outer wall member and adjacent the transverse line of fold of the wallet, one of said branch members having its top and side edges fastened to the frame member to which said inner wall member is fastened, the other branch member having its top and side edges fastened to the other frame member for forming a coin compari'. ment having closed walls, located between the two branch members and arranged to be opened at the top thereby assuming a V-shape, said outer wall member including a slot located at a point intermediate the bottom edge thereof and the point from which said branch members extend forming an opening extending into said bill compartment for rendering the edges of bills placed in the bill compartment accessible from the outside of the folded wallet independently of the coin compartment and -while said compartment is closed.

2. Wallet as described in claim 1 in combination with a flexible flap fastened to said outer wall member for covering said slot and the edges of bills accessible through the slot.

SIEGBERT WETTERHAHN. 

